Death toll after Europe flash floods hits 153: Rescuers continue hunt for survivors

The death toll from devastating floods in central Europe reached 153 on Saturday, police said, as rescuers resumed the search for hundreds of people still missing. Cranes help clear up the damage caused by devastating floods in Belgium which also struck neighbouring Belgium and have killed more than 150 people, though many aer still unaccounted for A pile of broken trees and debris is seen in a flooded area following heavy rainfalls in Kreuzberg, Germany Residents and shopkeepers try to clear mud from their homes and move unusable furniture outside in Ahrweiler, Germany A wrecked classic car is seen amid debris washed away by heavy flooding in western Europe which has killed 150 German Agriculture Minister Julia Klockner surveys the damage caused by flooding in Altenahr, Germany A resident piles up destroyed and muddy belongings out of a house after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany Workers clear a destroyed street after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler A view of destroyed houses in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, which were destroyed after the ground beneath them collapsed into a nearby gravel pit Three firefighters look at severely damaged ancient houses after the floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany A view flood damaged area in Altenahr, Germany after a severe rainstorm and flash floods hit western states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia states A car sits on its roof in Altenahr, western Germany, after heavy rains brought severe flooding to the area A bed and desk teeter on the edge of a destroyed house in Pepinster, Belgium, after flooding in the region Gravestones are barely visible above floodwaters in the Erftstadt region of Germany, after the river Erft burst its banks A family were among the missing on Saturday morning. Search and rescue services look amid the debris for survivors after days of heavy rainfall and severe flooding in Pepinster, Belgium Search and rescue services resumed looking for flood survivors in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday with hundreds still missing and at least 153 confirmed dead Residents survey the damage caused by days of heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday Residents start a lengthy clean-up in Pepinster, Belgium, after flash floods caused widespread damage in large areas of the country Search and rescue teams looked through rubble in Pepinster, Belgium, on Saturday, hoping to find flood survivors Residents start to clear up broken trees and debris strewn across streets in Pepinster, Belgium, after the town was devastated by flash floods Residents and shopkeepers try to clear mud from their homes and move unusable furniture outside Ahrweiler, western Germany, on Saturday Residents in Ahrweiler, western Germany, start the clean up after heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the region Volunteers prepare food for flood affected residents in Rochefort, south east of Brussels, after the region was hit by severe flooding Engineers warned a huge amount of pressure has built up behind the dam after it was inundated with water and its drainage system jammed, with huge cracks visible in the soil wall helping to hold it up The German fire brigade pump water out of the Steinbach dam after engineers warned the dam was dangerously close to collapse after three months' worth of rain fell on the region in just one week Submerged trucks and vehicles started to re-emerge on Saturday following days of extreme flooding, Germany's worst floods in more than 200 years Residents fill sandbags as they prepare for further flooding after days of heavy rainfall in Erftstadt Dirmerzheim, Germany Residents prepare for rising waters in Erftstadt Dirmerzheim, Germany in the latest episode in the evolving weather crisis in central Europe Rescuers resumed the search for survivors with hundreds still missing on Saturday morning as desperate families filled sandbags as they prepared for further flooding German Bundeswehr soldiers help search for flood victims in submerged vehicles on the highway in Erftstadt-Blessem A soldier tries to open the window of a car as members of the German armed forces help the search for flood victims German soldiers search for flood victims in submerged vehicles as hundreds remain missing after days of severe flooding Germany's Bundeswehr forces help move vehicles stuck on the road in Erftstadt-Blessem on Saturday, as the rescue effort restarted Germany's Bundeswehr forces used heavily armoured vehicles to recover vehicles stuck on roads in Erftstadt-Blessem after days of heavy flooding Members of the Bundeswehr forces were deployed to aid the recovery of vehicles following heavy rainfall and flooding in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany A drone photo shows an aerial view of submerged trucks on a flooded road after days of heavy rainfall and flash flooding Cars start to re-emerge as flood waters subside on the roads in Erftstadt-Blessem, Germany, on July 17 Helicopters aid the search effort as hundreds of people remain missing in Germany following days of heavy rainfall and flass floods A pile of broke trees and rubbish in a flooded area of Kreuzberg, Germany, following days of flash flooding that has killed at least 153 people Debris piled up in Kreuzberg, Germany, on July 17, in central Europe's latest flooding disaster that has killed at least 133 in Germany alone The extent of the damage became clear on Saturday as flood waters subsided revealing mountains of debris and rubble Debris and broken trees lined up alongside a railway in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, following days of extreme weather An aerial photo of the Maas river, which burst its banks following days of severe rainfall, near the evacuated town of Arcen Sandbags are prepared int he evacuated Arcen, in the Netherlands, in preparation for more heavy rainfall next week Volunteers across Germany have collected clothes and taken them emergency accommodation for flood victims A woman walks between donations in kind that are lying in a hall on the grounds of the Nuerburgring race track in Nuerburg, western Germany Residents started clearing rubble on Saturday after days of severe flooding in Valkenburg aan de Geul, the Netherlands Residents piled up debris and rubble outside their homes in Valkenburg aan de Geul, the Netherlands, following days of severe flooding Parts of northern France were also underwater by Saturday morning, following days of heavy rainfall Streets in Louhans, northern France, were underwater on Saturday following heavy rain and flooding which has so far killed at least 153 people A man wades through knee-high water in Louhans, northern France, on Saturday, after the streets were overrun following days of heavy rain King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visited Pepinster, where the water has continued to rise, on Friday. Houses on the outskirts of Blessem were torn to pieces as the ground beneath them collapsed and fell into a nearby gravel pit in the wake of torrential rains that have caused chaos in western Germany A section of sewage pipe is visible alongside the partially-destroyed remains of a house in Blessem after a landslide Chunks of road, pieces of concrete sewage pipe, cars, and wrecked buildings are shown collapsed into a watery hole on the outskirts of Blessem, Germany, following the landslide Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the town of Blessem, western Germany, killing an unknown number of people Aerial view shows an area completely destroyed by the floods in the Blessem district of Erftstadt, western Germany 'Several' people have been killed in the landslip, local officials said, though they were unable to say precisely how many Cars lie crumpled against concrete blocks that once formed part of the sewer system after the ground gave way due to a landslide in Blessem, Germany Two cars lie at the bottom of a deep hole created when waterlogged ground collapsed into a nearby gravel pit in Germany A partly-destroyed car that was parked in a garage is left hanging off the edge of a cliff after the ground collapsed in Blessem The death toll in Germany from the flooding had already topped 80 even before the landslide hit Blessem, sweeping away homes and part of a castle Officials said the landslide in Blessem had 'certainly' killed people though were unable to immediately say how many amid chaos caused by Germany's deadliest flooding crisis for decades A rescue helicopter circles over the town as emergency services try to save 15 people that went back to their homes and got trapped when the landslide hit Water drains away from the town of Blessem, Germany, after a landslide caused part of the ground to collapse, killing 'several' people on Friday Collapsed ground is seen near the village of Blessem, Germany, after flooding caused a landslide which killed 'several' people A car washed up by flood waters hangs on a tree while the river Ahr can be seen in the background in Bad Neuenahr, Germany A crashed fire engine is stuck in a hole in the road in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, following massive rainfall which has caused flooding A bicycle that was tied up outside a house in Blessem now hangs on the edge of a giant hole after the ground fell away A man rides his bicycle through the flooded streets of in Blessem, Germany, following devastating floods that have killed nearly 100 Damaged cars lie in the rubble in an area completely destroyed by the floods in the Blessem district of Erftstadt, Germany An aerial view of the landslide shows how what used to be a street corner collapsed into the ground, taking the road, houses, cars and other debris with it The collapse happened in Blessem, south of Cologne, when flooding from the Erft river caused waterlogged ground to collapse into a nearby gravel pit - dragging homes and cars down with it The flooding crisis was triggered by a heavy and slow-moving rainstorm over western Germany that dumped more than a months' worth of rain in a night, and also impacted parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visit a flooded street in Pepinster after the area was ravaged by heavy flooding King Philippe comforts a woman after her home was flooded in Pepinster, Belgium, even as water continues to rise in the area King Philippe of Belgium spoke to residents affected by heavy flooding in Pepinster as he visited the disaster zone on Friday King Philippe and Queen Mathilde surveyed the damage caused by heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Beligum Local residents try to clear up a shop following heavy rainfall and flooding in Pepinster, Belgium, on Friday Speaking to German broadcaster n-tv, Rock said authorities had no precise number yet for how many had died in the flash floods that turned roads into wild raging torrents, ripping up cobblestones, collapsing homes and flipping parked cars into piles of rubble. An aerial image shows the extent of flood damage in Shuld, a town in the Ahrweiler region of Germany, which was hardest-hit by flooding which swept away homes overnight Wednesday Rescue crews are now sifting through rubble in the Ahrweiler region where 1,300 people are missing amid warnings the death toll could rise considerably An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the destroyed village of Schuld in the district of Ahrweiler after heavy flooding of the river Ahr Dozens have died and more than 1,000 people are missing after Germany was hit by some of the deadliest flooding in the country's modern history An aerial view taken with a drone shows a damaged car at a cemetery in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany Damaged cars pile up on a street after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany People shovel mud to clear a street in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany, after heavy rain hit parts of the country A local surveys the damage caused by flooding in Bad Neuenahr, in Ahrweiler district, where most of the missing hail from A local resident walks past damaged cars in a street in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany, after heavy rain hit parts of the country A view of the pedestrian area of Bad Muenstereifel, which was devastated by flooding after heavy rainfall hit western Germany People carry their belongings past a broken road in Schuld, Germany People walk past rubble in a street devastated by the floods in Euskirchen, western Germany A destroyed car lies on its side in a ditch amid the ruins of the town of Schuld, Germany, following severe flooding A man tries to cleans his garden of mud and other debris in Schuld, Germany, after devastating floods An aerial view of the destruction in the pedestrian area of Bad Muenstereifel after heavy rain caused widespread flooding Destroyed houses are seen after floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany Debris hangs on a damaged bridge over the Ahr river in Schuld, Germany, two days after devastating floods hit Firefighters rest next to debris of houses in Schuld, Germany, after a two-day rescue operation that is far from complete A fireman walks past the ruins of a car in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, after it was swept away by floodwaters A man carrying a shovel on his shoulder walks amid the debris near damaged cars after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler A van crushed by the torrents is pressed against a tree after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, western Germany Men walk past driftwood, rubble, and an overturned car, as they survey the damage caused by severe floods in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler A man takes pictures of cars and rubble piled up in a street after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Two people walk near damaged vehicles after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany A man stands amid rubble and debris after floods caused major damage in Schuld near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler People climb over rubble piled up in a street after the floods caused major damage in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler A view of debris and damaged buildings amid flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany A couple hug as they survey the damage caused by severe flooding in Bad Neuenahr after the Ahr river burst its banks A local helps to clear away rubble blocking a street in Schuld, Germany, following disastrous flooding A person stands amid the debris near a damaged car after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany A collapsed building is pictured after a flood in Schuld, Germany A fire truck drives through a flooded street following heavy rainfalls in Erftstadt, Germany A view of a vehicle of the fire department stuck in a damaged street of a residential area after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany Trucks are almost fully submerged on a flooded street following heavy rainfalls in Erftstadt, Germany Police officers inspect the area as a person rides a quad bike amid the debris after flooding in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Cars left covered in mud and debris following flooding in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, after the area was w hit by heavy continuous rain A wrecked car is seen in a school yard after flooding in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, following heavy rain on Wednesday Locals in the town of Erftstadt, Germany, help to fill sandbags to block rising floodwaters amid forecasts of more rain A crayfish walks down the street in Schuld, Germany, after it was washed into town on floodwaters that inundated the river The governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, who is hoping to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as the nation's leader after Germany's election on September 26, said the disaster had caused immense economic damage to the country's most densely populated state.